Things to be Thankful For

I know Thanksgiving has passed but with Christmas just around the corner, I'm also thinking about things to be thankful for that I consider "presents". Obviously, the gravest thing lingering on many people's minds is the recent horrific mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School of 20 children and 6 adults last Saturday. It devastated all of us, especially parents of children of similar age to those who were killed. While our mourning doesn't come close to that of the parents who lost their children in the shooting, we were all deeply affected because we know that there was nothing "violence-prone" about that specific school. While incredibly rare, it could happen anywhere, in any town, suburban, rural, or inner city. Even though the statistics are really minuscule for something like that to happen to any one person, tell that to those parents who lost their child or loved one. Even though it is very distant from where I live and I don't personally know any of the families affected, my good mommy friend was not so lucky. Her best friend's daughter and only child was one of the victims. I can't imagine what they're going through right now. She flew out there the day after the shooting to help her friend get through it all. So I am very grateful to have two very healthy children, alive and well. It's really not fair for those parents to have lost their precious children and I'm deeply saddened by it. I know I am human and will still get mad and yell at my kids but I will continue to remind myself how lucky I am to have them in my life.

The other "present" is my parents selling their store. They've ran that liquor store for 30 years now and I've almost given up on my hope of them visiting here. While escrow hasn't closed yet, it's still very happy news for me. I don't know what they plan to do with their next phase of life but I'm glad that I can take "store hold-ups" off my list of things to worry about soon. I can't wait for them to visit so that I can take them to wine country, since my dad enjoys drinking wine (esp. Napa wine).